Chelsea have announced the much-awaited contract extension of Thiago Silva by one year, which will keep him at the club until 2023. The veteran centre-back quickly became a pivotal cog in the Blues’ setup, helping them win the Champions League in his first season.
This news comes as a massive relief for everyone involved within the club, and the fans, as they feared that the defender will make a move to the Middle East. Ian McGarry of the Transfer Window Podcast mentioned that Silva has a very lucrative offer from a Gulf club, which could see him quit the Premier League club. But as it turns out, he promised to stay a little longer.
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The former PSG defender has been enjoying life in London since then, and reunion with manager Thomas Tuchel gave more than one reason for him to extend his stay.
The Brazilian has appeared in 22 games this season already, scoring in two away games against Tottenham (3-0, Sep 19) and West Ham (2-3, Dec 4) in the Premier League.
Besides the Champions League, the London club also added the UEFA Super Cup to their cabinet since Silva joined and lost in the FA Cup final to Leicester City. Silva remained on the bench in the Super Cup final against Villarreal, which they won on penalties, and appeared in the 1-0 loss to the Foxes in the FA Cup final.
The 37-year-old provides an assured presence, and despite a lot of people predicting him to not do well, he put in some stunning performances. He will play a pivotal part in Chelsea’s Carabao Cup mission, which currently is just two steps away from completion. The club will face Antonio Conte’s Spurs, with both legs taking place on 6th and 13th January.
The centre-back is one of the most celebrated footballers of the last decade, with some sensational results achieved with AC Milan and PSG. He was an integral part of the Rossoneri’s last Serie A triumph, which came all the way back in 2010/11. He was named player of the season by various media houses like Goal.com and La Gazzetta dello Sport.
He then moved to PSG in a 42 million Euro transfer in the summer of 2012, and went on to win seven Ligue 1 titles. It seemed like the Parisians were pretty close to achieving their dream of winning the Champions League in Silva’s last season at the club, but the dream wasn’t to be fulfilled that season, having lost the 2019/20 final to Bayern Munich.
After completing a free transfer to Chelsea in August 2020, it didn’t take long for the Brazilian to finally attain that success, winning the same title next season under the same manager.
Tuchel’s men are into the Round of 16 and are one of the favourites yet again to defend the title.
